Staff Attorney - COA

Administrative Office of the Courts • Seattle, WA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

Washington State Court of Appeals (COA) Division I is seeking a motivated professional to join our team. As the Staff Attorney, you’ll assist the court in resolving all types of motions and cases before the court and in handling court administrative matters as requested. They draft prehearing memoranda and opinions, rulings, and orders.

Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited law school
• Member in good standing in the Washington State Bar Association
• Four (4) years’ experience in public or private appellate practice, appellate court, or judicially related system.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of Washington State law and the judicial system, including the rules governing court procedures and the appellate process
• Knowledge of relevant citation and cite-checking sources
• Strong command of legal writing and research skills
• Experience with word processing
• Ability to work independently and with others, usually under time pressure
• Ability to interpret and apply court rules
• Ability to understand complex legal issues
• Ability to apply legal principles
• Ability to exercise sound legal judgment
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Ability to develop working knowledge of significant legal problems and trends
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with judges, commissioners, court personnel, the legal community, and others.

Responsibilities

• Reviews personal restraint petitions to determine whether petition is procedurally barred or response is required; reviews petition, responses, and record requests supplemental responses and record where appropriate; recommends appropriate disposition of motions; researches issues; consults with Chief Judge or Acting Chief Judge; and prepares appropriate orders and/or opinion.
• Reviews Anders brief and response; reviews entire record provided by counsel; requests supplemental record where appropriate; research issues raised by counsel and nonfrivolous issues not raised by counsel; consults with judges where appropriate; and prepares memorandum and per curium opinion or order; with clerk’s office maintains list of pending and ready Anders cases.
• Reviews briefs and record; research issues; consults with judges where appropriate; prepares prehearing memorandum or draft opinion; with secretarial assistance, finalizes opinion or order; addresses motions for reconsideration as requested by judges.
• Prepares prehearing memorandum and draft opinion in cases that present multiple issues and/or lengthy records; responsibilities include those for nonoral argument cases; and provides editorial comments on opinions in circulation.
• Reviews and assists judges and commissioners in preparing rulings and orders on various motions, including motions on the merits, motions for discretionary review, motions for accelerated review of juvenile and adult sentences, emergency motions and motions to modify.
• Screens all briefs filed, identifying key issues and tentatively designating appropriate calendar for disposition; monitors recurrent pending issues; consults with judges, commissioners and clerk’s office where appropriate; determines whether to recommend a stay or possible certification; recommends weight to be allocated to certain oral argument cases; prepares orders setting motions to dismiss or to determine mootness where appropriate; with clerk’s office sets the oral argument calendar; and maintains informal statistics of allocation of cases across calendars.
• Assists with training of law clerks and other court personnel; participates in court CLE presentations; serves on division and court-wide committees; assists in developing court programs such as the pro bono program; regularly reviews Supreme Court opinions and disseminates excerpts/summaries to commissioner’s office; and prepares case summaries for the court’s web page.
• Assists the judges, court commissioners and clerk’s office as requested; duties may include assisting on oral argument cases, assisting pro tem judges, monitoring emergency motions in the commissioners’ absence, and assisting in developing and maintaining technological support.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior